If you like something…

Author Notes:A tasty tribute to the Gap Yahs of old, this simple soup can be made with pretty much any crisp vegetable. Adjust the chile quantity according to your spice tolerance level. —Sophie Missing and Caroline Craig

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Serves 1

1
teaspoon fresh ginger

1/2
red chile pepper, or to taste

3
scallions

1/2
yellow pepper

2
handfuls spinach

2
ounces vermicelli rice noodles

1/2
chicken or vegetable stock cube (or generous pinch of salt)

1
lime

1
handful fresh cilantro and basil

Begin by preparing your bowl at home up to 48 hours in advance. Peel the ginger and mince it. Add it to a large heatproof jar or container with a sealable lid. Finely chop the chile pepper (remove seeds if you prefer less spice) and add it to the minced ginger. Chop the white part of the scallions and slice the yellow pepper lengthwise into thin strips. Add the spinach leaves and rice noodles along with the stock cube. Slice the lime in half and add both halves to the container, then finely chop the herbs and add them on top.

At lunchtime: Boil a pot of fresh water either using your office microwave or kettle. Remove the lime from your jar and pour the boiling water over the soup mix until it just covers everything. Using a fork, stir the soup until the stock has dissolved. Close the lid and give it a good shake. Let the soup rest for a minute then squeeze the lime over top.

This recipe appealed to me on the basis of the its ingredients. Healthy, simple, well chosen. You can improvise as well. Even though I work from home, I prepare 4-6 jars and if I feel like it, empty the finished soup to a bowl. Just terrific.

We take cues from the delicious instant ramen soup cups we found in the stores on a trip to S. Korea. Dehydrated tofu, http://www.backpacker.com... and our addition of thinly sliced mushrooms provided nourishing meals in our hotel room. (Every Korean hotel provides an electric kettle.) There were also ingredients we couldn't identify, all adding up to gourmet instant ramen soup that puts the Western versions to shame.

Hello - we use vermicelli rice noodles which are so fine that they cook to al dente very quickly when covered with boiling water, so no need to pre-cook (they'll also continue to cook while you wait for the broth to cool down enough to eat). Brands do vary though, so it could take between 1-3 minutes. You could also use a portion of ready to cook rice noodles. Hope this helps!

Weck jars are canning jars and less prone to cracking when suddenly coming in contact with hot fluid, but I think that if you take these to work, you can let the glass come to room temperature before pouring in hot water. My office doesn't have refrigerators so my lunch typically sits out on my desk until I eat and I don't have an issue with cracking.

Hi Margaret, we wouldn't want anyone to get any burns and do stress in our guidelines to use an appropriate heat safe container. But you make a good point, and perhaps giving it a good, vigorous shuffle or jiggle while on a flat surface might be a more prudent direction!

Should the vermicelli be pre-cooked? Seems like it might not cook all the way with just a minute or two sitting in hot water. I normally need about three or four minutes over a rolling boil to get to al dente at home.